Author Topic: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art  (Read 26798 times)

Renoard

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #105 on: April 02, 2009, 07:35:21 PM »
It would seem I touched a nerve.  What I was getting at was a principle that I learned in undergrad.  I had a teacher that liked to say that a bad writer has trouble writing long and a good writer has difficulty writing short.

He was just describing the process of maturing as an author and story teller.  I have to admit there are some short and  simple novels I like.  I loved Zelazney's work.  But I do continue to believe that, most of the time, short novels fail to be good novels.
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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #106 on: April 02, 2009, 07:43:48 PM »
I hope that is not saying Rodger Zelazany is a poor arthur he won 6 freaking Hugo's and 3 bloody Nebula Awards...those aren't just given away (unless you are orson scott card in which you get one for no reason enders shadow was a better book and how the hell did enders game win anything?)
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Bookstore Guy

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #107 on: April 02, 2009, 07:53:20 PM »
Yowzers! I can't agree with any portion of that. Plenty of bad authors go on and on and on. Plenty of good authors know how to keep it short. Of course, your definition of long vs. short is important to the discussion. I remember as a kid that I used to equate length to quality. That simply isn't the case. By that definition, no middle-grade or YA can be considered good. It also disqualifies most horror (including Lovecraft, Wilson, and the new-found Wells). It also limits severely the SF&F that can be considered good.

There are simply too many other qualifiers to decide whether a book is good or not. Word-count shouldn't be one of them. Jordan is good and all, but the pure word-count doesn't make him good (or bad depending on your view - equal opportunity and all that). If his story sucked, then all the words in the world wouldn't be able to help him.
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Renoard

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #108 on: April 02, 2009, 08:04:40 PM »
Wow I think that's the only time I've seen anyone interpret the phrase "I loved [X]" as a negative criticism...

Boggle!
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #109 on: April 02, 2009, 08:17:03 PM »
Kaz, you're the first person I've heard say was surprised that Ender's Game won a Hugo. It won because it was an awesome book and the Hugo voters recognized that. Not that hard to figure out.

Also, some short books are extremely good. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer are both excellent and short.
« Last Edit: April 02, 2009, 08:20:48 PM by Ookla The Mok »
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Patriotic Kaz

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #110 on: April 02, 2009, 08:20:47 PM »
It was a decent read to me it was like harry potter winning a hugo...(ender's shadow was SOOOO much better)

P.S. i didn't like the Once in Future King either and people rant at me when i say that too...
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #111 on: April 02, 2009, 08:28:00 PM »
Ender's Shadow was written far, far later (and I don't think it was as good), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the Hugo in 2001. It was a good book too. :)
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Miyabi

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #112 on: April 02, 2009, 08:34:17 PM »
Ender's Game was such an amazing book.  Way better than Ender's Shadow in my opinion, though I did like Ender's Shadow, but only because Bean was my favorite character. ha ha.

@topic - I'm glad that they turned Rand around for the official art.
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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #113 on: April 02, 2009, 08:51:23 PM »
and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the Hugo in 2001. It was a good book too. :)

that was the only good one.

Ender's Game was such an amazing book.  Way better than Ender's Shadow in my opinion, though I did like Ender's Shadow, but only because Bean was my favorite character. ha ha.

@topic - I'm glad that they turned Rand around for the official art.


I dunno, Rand getting all Saturday Night Fever might have been a good change...maybe a little funk music would lighten him up a little from the one-dimensional character he currently is.
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Comfortable Madness

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #114 on: April 02, 2009, 08:57:47 PM »
If by one-dimensional you mean awesome. Then yes. Rand completely lives in the dimension of awesome and going full on Travolta would go a long way to changing that.... : ;D
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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #115 on: April 02, 2009, 09:12:29 PM »
he's better than perrin, but his attitude is boring. Mat is the only one of the three that is awesome.
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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #116 on: April 02, 2009, 09:14:18 PM »
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the Hugo in 2001.

Why did I not know this?   :o
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Renoard

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #117 on: April 02, 2009, 09:16:42 PM »
Well I sort of half agree with Books about where Rand was going by book 11.  Thing is he didn't start that way and I always felt he was getting that way the way real people tend to flatten out when they become obsessed or isolated.  Rand is both.  But rand was never really my favorite character.  I prefer and coincidentally identify with the large fellow with the dog attachment.

But Mat is quickly becomming the center of the story, if Books 10 and 11 are any indication.
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Comfortable Madness

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #118 on: April 02, 2009, 09:30:00 PM »
Oh,without a doubt Mat is my favorite character. I started off by not really liking him but he just gets more awesome as the books go on. Definately find myself, as I reread the books, impatiently waiting for Mat's point-of-view chapters.
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Patriotic Kaz

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Re: Breaking news on A Memory of Light: three volumes (maybe) & cover art
« Reply #119 on: April 02, 2009, 09:33:25 PM »
Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows were the best of the series in my opinion but neither was good enough to get a Hugo in my book... back to the topic on hand though...

How the hell is Rand one dimensional i mean he was a simple shepperd who went all loony...and under the circumstances i would have done so far sooner...and Mat is only temporarily becoming the center just like how Perrin dominated Winter's Heart...the dragon is the key focus... i mean he is the champion of the light

*spoiler question has now been removed*
« Last Edit: April 02, 2009, 10:08:25 PM by Champion Kaz »
"Words are double edged blades. Only the great and the foolish play with knives." - Kaz the Buddah

"Take off your sandals, for you are posting on holy ground." -  Yahweh Kaz

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